Isbell (1982) clarifies the
anthropological definition of the concept of dialectics. She proposes that the
tropical zone "provides a perceptual environment that promotes and
enhances a particular `science of the concrete'" (353). By "science
of the concrete" she means that empirically perceived order in a given
site's environment provides the foundation for "systems of
classifications, epistemological structures, and cosmologies" (353).
Presumably the ambient framework that informs local cosmo-conception includes
topography, seasonal cycles, and astronomy. Having noticed the unique orientational
properties of a specific location, human beings may found a site for precisely
these reasons, and I believe this is what happened at Izapa. According to
Isbell, environmental determinants inform cosmo-conception within the Tropics
and lend themselves to ideas rooted in "dialectical, reversible
dualism" (353). Importantly, she notes that "native philosophers, who
are usually shamans or astronomer-priests, use methods and metaphorical
language that are unfamiliar to us" (353). In other words, the logic underlying
native thought-systems is dialectical rather than rationalistic. Rational or
linear thought processes are limited by an either-or assumption that, in the
end, does not model nature very well. A complementary, oppositionally inclusive
or reciprocal relationship between opposed categories of experience more
accurately reflects native thought as revealed over many decades of
ethnographic study. For example, see B. Tedlock (1982:2-5) and Jenkins
(1994a:316-319).

Another concept
related to this dialectical approach is "conflation." In my usage
here, this means the purposeful mythologizing of dialectically opposed events
so that they are understood as reflecting the same underlying unity. Opposites
are conceptually "conflated" into a higher unity. We see this most
clearly in the identification of Mesoamerican deities. The full moon is
associated with the sun, being called a "little sun." In another
example, the Underworld becomes the night sky when, after sundown, it rotates
above the horizon. Here, the Underworld is actually above the Earth, a concept
strange to either-or thinkers but perfectly compatible with the dialectical
mind-set. The categories of sky and Earth are conflated into a higher unity in
which, under certain conditions, the sky is below the Earth and the Underworld
is above. Dennis Tedlock (1985 and 1995) stresses that the Quiché word cahuleu
(sky-Earth) reveals a conflated concept in which sky and Earth are unified into
one dialectical whole. This is a good example of how conflation and dialectical
thinking works. And it can apply to extremely complicated levels of meaning,
involving several levels of observations, including both temporal and spatial
categories. The unsung dimensions of knowledge encoded in Izapan stelae provide
a great challenge of interpretation even when armed with such a progressive
dialectical model.

For elucidation
of dialectical thought, Isbell refers to Wagner (1975), who states that the
anthropological usage of the concept of dialectics refers to "a tension or
dialogue-like alternation between two conceptions or view-points that are
simultaneously contradictory and supportive of each other" (52). According
to Wagner, dialectical thought works by "exploiting contradictions
against a common ground of similarity" (52). In comparison,
"rationalistic or `linear' logic" (52) appeals to a consistent
meaning against a foundation of differences.